JP2000054965A - Pump device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pump device with high reliability which is provided with readiness of a microcomputer-type pump with consumed power equivalent to that of a mechanical-switch-type pump. SOLUTION: Power supply to a pump control circuit 11b is performed, in principle, only when a water plug opens, that is really power supply is required (where, the power supply is continued until a given elapsed time even after the water plug is closed). On the assumption of power supply to the control circuit 11b, power supply from a direct current power source to a pressure detection means 7 used for driving and control of a pump motor 13b is periodically controlled according to times when a microcomputer 11d takes in pressure data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pump device for automatically starting and stopping the operation when a faucet is opened and closed, and more particularly to a pump device for supplying water by using energy without waste.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional pump device automatically pumps water in a well or automatically connects a water main connected directly to a suction port with a user's operation of opening and closing a faucet. There is one that intensifies and supplies water.

In addition, this type of pump device is a so-called mechanical switch type (mechanical switch type) pump that controls the operation of the pump motor by a flow rate switch or a pressure switch, and a control circuit including an electronic circuit including a microcomputer. There is a so-called microcomputer pump for controlling the operation.

[0004] In the latter case, the pressure in the pump device is continuously monitored for 24 hours in order to be able to immediately respond to the user's use of water that occurs as needed. Recently, as a pressure detecting means (pressure sensor) in a pump device, a semiconductor device using a DC power supply has been used to improve the detection accuracy and to prolong the service life by eliminating a contact.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 2-173538 discloses a technique for reducing power consumption by causing a current for detecting a resistance value to flow periodically and intermittently in a semiconductor pressure sensor. It has been disclosed. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 258117 proposes a technique for intermittently operating a pressure sensor, an A / D conversion circuit, and a threshold value discrimination circuit in a sensor input / output device of a gas safety device in order to reduce current consumption.

[0006]

Among the pump devices, a mechanical switch type pump requires a long time to start pump operation and lacks responsiveness to opening of a faucet, but does not consume power except during operation. On the other hand, the microcomputer-type pump constantly monitors changes in water pressure, and although excellent in responsiveness of pump operation, consumes power in the control circuit even in a standby state in which pump operation is not performed.

Here, taking as an example the use of a well pump in an ordinary household, the total operation time during which the pump actually performs a water supply operation is about 2 hours during 24 hours a day, and water supply is performed during the remaining time. There is no waiting state. Further, the faucet operation is characterized in that once the operation is started, the operation is repeatedly performed in a short time.

In such a use environment, supplying power to the control circuit and the pressure detecting means by the conventional microcomputer type pump for 24 hours requires not only an increase in power consumption but also a pressure detecting means using a DC power supply. This causes a decrease in the dielectric strength of the circuit and an increase in the leakage current, and if such a problem occurs, it is expected that a normal pump operation cannot be performed. As described above, there is a conventional power consumption technology in which a current is periodically supplied to a pressure sensor and a sensor signal is taken in at the time of the current supply. Is always in a state of supplying power, and power is consumed even when the pump is not used.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and
In particular, by saving power that cannot be covered by the conventional power saving measures such as periodic current supply to the pressure sensor, the responsiveness of the microcomputer pump can be reduced with the same power consumption as the mechanical switch pump. It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly-reliable pump device provided with the above.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention basically proposes the following means for solving the problems.

That is, pressure detecting means for detecting a water pressure in the pump device, control means for controlling a power supply of the pressure detecting means, and inputting a detection signal of the pressure detecting means to drive and control the pump motor. When the faucet is opened, electricity is supplied to the control means, and on condition that the faucet is closed, or on the condition that a predetermined time (standby time) elapses in the closed state after the faucet is closed. And a power supply circuit for stopping power supply to the control means.

With this configuration, when the user opens the faucet, electricity is supplied to the central control means of the pump device. When the faucet is closed, the electric power is basically supplied to the control means except for the standby time. Is not supplied, and when the control means stops, the control of the power supply of the pressure detection means also stops, and the power supply to the pressure detection means also stops. Therefore, power is supplied to the control means (control circuit) in addition to the pressure detection means only when necessary for actual pump operation.

As described above, the purpose of setting the standby time (the time from when the faucet is closed to when a predetermined time elapses after the faucet is closed) is to set the power supply stop by the user during a short time in the water work. Since the operation of opening and closing the faucet is performed many times, securing the water pressure detection and the drive control of the pump motor for a certain period of time after closing the faucet has almost no hindrance to responsiveness. That's why.

The opening and closing of the faucet may be detected either directly or indirectly. For example, the opening and closing of the faucet may be detected by detecting the flow of water in the pump device that changes by opening and closing the faucet with a flow switch. Is a simple method.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a pump device to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the pump device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a pressure sensor used in the present embodiment. FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing of this embodiment when it is determined that the faucet is closed.

First, the overall structure of the pump device will be described with reference to FIG.

The pump device is roughly classified into a base 1, a component mounted on the base 1, and a cover 1 for protecting the whole thereof.
2 and an underwater section including the submersible pump 13.

The above-ground portion is formed on a base 1, and a suction port 2 for taking in water pumped from a submersible pump 13;
Check valve 3 for preventing backflow of water absorbed from the water, communication pipe 4 connecting check valve 3 and base 1, temperature sensor 8 for detecting temperature of communication pipe 4, and water guided by communication pipe 4 as a base. 1
, A pressure tank 6 connected by a pipe in the base 1 to buffer a change in the discharge pressure due to a sudden change in the amount of water used, and a pressure sensor for linearly detecting the discharge pressure in the pump device (Pressure detecting means) 7, a flow rate switch 14 (shown in FIG. 2) for detecting a change in flow rate in a pipe in the pump device, a power cord 9 for supplying power to electric components, and a ground for grounding a metal part of the pump body. Ground wire 10, electrical component case 11 for storing electrical components, electrical component case 11
Display / input board 1 that is installed inside and performs various displays and inputs
1a, control circuit (control means) 1 for controlling pump operation
1b, power supply relay 1 controlled by flow switch 14
5 (shown in FIG. 2), a self-holding relay 16 (shown in FIG. 2) for the control circuit 11b to secure its own power supply, and a bidirectional semiconductor element 11c for switching the underwater motor 13b.

A submersible pump 13 serving as a submersible section includes a submersible motor 13b subjected to a water seal process, a strainer 13 for taking in water.
c, a turbine pump 13d for pressurizing water taken from the strainer 13c, a discharge pipe 13a for supplying water pressurized by the turbine pump 13d to the ground, and a motor cable for connecting the electric part case 11 and the submersible pump 13 on the ground. 1
3e.

Next, an electric circuit of the pump device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The power supply circuit in FIG. 2 has a configuration in which a commercial power supply (AC power supply) is converted into a DC of a predetermined voltage via an AC-DC conversion circuit 20a and supplied to a control circuit 11b.

The control circuit 11b is composed mainly of a microcomputer 11d.

In the pump device according to the present embodiment, when the faucet is opened and water flows in the pump device, the flow switch 14 is closed and the power supply relay 1 is closed when the water flows.
5 energizes the coil 15a, the energization closes the power supply relay contact 15b, closes the power supply circuit 20 of the control circuit 11b, and controls the control circuit 11b via the AC-DC conversion circuit 20a.
Is supplied with electricity (DC power supply). The power supply relay 15
The contact 15b is closed only while the faucet is open.

When the control circuit 11b is activated by power supply, the power supply circuit 20 is closed by the self-holding relay 16 separately from the power supply relay 15 by a command signal 11g output from the microcomputer 11d of the control circuit 11b.

The microcomputer 11d issues a command 11e so that the power supply of the pressure sensor 7 is controlled at a predetermined cycle when the microcomputer 11d is supplied with power and is in an operating state. It is set so as to take in via the detection circuit 21.

The pump device of this embodiment basically controls the driving of the pump motor 13b based on the detection signal of the pressure sensor 7 for detecting the water pressure in the pump device.

When the microcomputer 11d determines that the faucet has been closed based on the signal of the pressure sensor 7, it is possible to determine that the faucet has been closed also from the signal of the flow rate switch 14. ), A command is issued to the self-holding relay 16 to open the power supply circuit 20 after a predetermined time (standby time) has elapsed after the faucet is closed.

In the above operation, the self-holding relay 1
When the control circuit 11b is in a power supply state, the bidirectional semiconductor element 11h is turned on by a trigger signal (self-holding control signal) 11g from the microcomputer 11d to energize the coil 16a, and the self-holding relay contact 16b is closed.

The submersible motor (pump motor) 13b for pumping water, which is the main function of the pump, is operated / stopped by a trigger signal from the microcomputer 11d.

The details of the circuit operation during the operation of the pump motor are as follows. The control circuit 11b supplies DC power to the pressure sensor 7, and the pressure sensor 7 outputs a voltage corresponding to a pressure change in the pump device. The microcomputer 1 in the control circuit 11b
1d indicates the output of the pressure sensor every fixed time (every predetermined cycle)
Then, the value is compared with the pressure sensor data at the time of the previous measurement, and based on the comparison result, the control content is determined based on a predetermined criterion.
The trigger signal for driving 3d is controlled. By repeating this process, it is possible to respond to the user's use of water that occurs as needed.

The loading of pressure data in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the timing chart of FIG. In FIG. 3, T is a pressure sensor data capture period of the microcomputer 11 d, Tsen is a time required for the microcomputer to capture the pressure sensor data, Td is a time required for the output to be stabilized after the pressure sensor 7 is turned on, and Ton (= Td + Tsen). )
Is the output time of the power supply control signal 11e to the pressure sensor 7 output by the microcomputer 11d. The microcomputer 11d operates the power supply control circuit 11 before the time Td for capturing the pressure data.
f, a power supply control signal 11e is output and the pressure sensor 7
When the output voltage of the pressure sensor 7 is stabilized after the elapse of the Td time from the start of power supply to the power supply, the data is taken in for the Tsen time. Thereafter, the output of the power supply control signal 11e is stopped, and the power supply to the pressure sensor 7 is stopped. Thereafter, the above-described series of processing is repeated every T periods. According to the above-described means, the DC power supply to the pressure sensor 7 is not continuously energized for 24 hours, but functionally equivalent performance to continuous energization is secured, and the power consumption and the total power supply time of the pressure sensor 7 are reduced. It can be reduced to Ton / T in the case where continuous power supply is performed.

When the microcomputer 11d determines from the input data of the pressure sensor 7 that the use of water has been completed, the microcomputer 11d stops outputting the trigger signal for controlling the submersible motor 13b, and waits for a predetermined time to open the water faucet. to go into.

This will be described in detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4. When the microcomputer 11d determines that the faucet is closed based on a change in the signal of the pressure sensor 7, it outputs a trigger signal for controlling the submersible motor (pump motor) 13b. After stopping and stopping the underwater motor, the state shifts to a Twait standby state for a certain time. When the output data of the pressure sensor 7 changes during the Twait time and the microcomputer 11d determines that the faucet is opened,
The state shifts from the standby state to the operation state, and a trigger signal is output again to drive the underwater motor 13b.

If there is no change in the data of the pressure sensor 7 during Twait, the microcomputer 11d determines that the water has not been used for a certain period of time (in other words, the closed state of the faucet has been continued). Then, the output of the self-holding control signal is stopped, and the contact of the self-holding relay 16 is opened to stop the power supply to the control circuit 11b.

According to the present embodiment, power is supplied to the control circuit 11b in addition to the pressure sensor 7 only when it is necessary for actual pump operation, so that power consumption can be reduced.
Since it is possible to eliminate the cause of the decrease in the dielectric strength of the circuit and the increase in the leakage current, it is possible to provide a pump device capable of realizing high reliability.

Further, according to the present embodiment, by setting the standby time Twait for the power supply stop, when the user repeatedly performs the operation of opening and closing the faucet in a short time,
By ensuring the detection of the water pressure and the drive control of the pump motor for a certain period of time even after closing the faucet, it is possible to provide a pump device that hardly hinders responsiveness.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, power is supplied to the control circuit and the pressure sensor only when it is actually needed, and the responsiveness of the microcomputer pump is the same as that of the mechanical switch pump. , A highly reliable pump device can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a pump device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of a pump device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing power supply to a pressure sensor unit used in the present embodiment and pressure data fetch timing.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a process according to the present embodiment when it is determined that the faucet is closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

7: pressure sensor (pressure detecting means), 11b: control circuit (control means), 11c: bidirectional semiconductor element for motor,
11d: microcomputer, 11e: power supply control signal, 11f: power supply control circuit, 11g: self-holding control signal, 11h: bidirectional semiconductor element for self-holding relay, 13: submersible pump (motor pump), 14: flow rate switch, 15 ... Power supply relay, 16 ... Self-holding relay, 20 ... Power supply circuit, 20a
... AC-DC conversion circuit (DC power supply).

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tomotaka Honda 1-1-1, Higashitaga-cho, Hitachi City, Ibaraki Prefecture Inside the Taga Headquarters, Electric Appliances Division, Hitachi, Ltd. 1-1-1 Tagacho F-term (reference) 2F055 AA39 BB20 CC60 DD20 EE35 EE40 FF31 GG31 3H020 within Tachitaga Technology Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] A pressure detection means for detecting a water pressure of a water supply system; a control means for controlling a power supply of the pressure detection means, and inputting a detection signal of the pressure detection means to drive and control a pump motor; Supplying electricity to the control means on condition that the faucet is opened,
A power supply circuit for stopping power supply to the control means on condition that the faucet is closed or on condition that a predetermined time elapses in a closed state after the faucet is closed. apparatus. 2. The pressure detecting means is controlled to supply power at a predetermined cycle according to a command from the control means when the control means is supplied with power and is in an operating state. The pump device according to claim 1, wherein the pump device is set to receive a detection signal of the pressure detection unit. 3. A pump device comprising: a pressure sensor for detecting a water pressure in a pump device; and control means for controlling driving of a pump motor based on a detection signal of the pressure sensor. When the flow of water occurs, the power supply relay of the control means is closed to supply electricity to the control means while the flow of water is generated, and when the control means is activated by power supply, A self-holding relay that closes a power supply circuit of the control means in addition to the power supply relay by a command signal output from the control means; A command is issued to perform power supply control in a cycle, and it is set to take in a detection signal of the pressure sensor when power is supplied to the pressure sensor, and it is determined that the faucet is closed. A pump device configured to issue a command to the self-holding relay to open the power supply circuit after a lapse of a predetermined time after the water tap is closed. 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the determination that the faucet is closed is made based on a detection signal of the pressure sensor.
A pump device as described.